This temporary installation in De Overslag artists’ initiative in Eindhoven is actually the first KAPKAR, although this concept had yet to be born. After a number of years in which I mainly produced drawings, I was invited to make a spatial contribution to the ‘Autonomous Architecture’ event.

I devised a structure that is a model of the exhibition space in which it was displayed. The 1:3 scale model was positioned slightly off centre.
The model’s windows and doors were then connected to their corresponding openings in the exhibition space. These connections were structural perspective shafts that made the model appear to float in the space. From the first floor it was possible to climb into the scaled-down space; it was also possible to crawl into the shafts.

This project considers the status of the model. A model is generally a representation of reality. And often a misrepresentation. This installation is a new reality that enters into a relationship with its origin. A model and a ‘real’ space are not the same. A model has a different, but not a lesser architectural value and can also be used as such.

This project may be seen as a new start for me. A light went on in my head. Virtually all the factors I still employ in my work I used here for the first time: (recycled) construction plywood, structural floating elements, the reinterpretation of existing spaces in a new reality, and of course making it all myself. The last of these factors was designing with models, whereby the structure is tested in model form and not through calculations.